1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to mobile communication terminals and, more particularly, to a mobile communication terminal such as a portable telephone set or a PHS terminal, capable of automatically or semi-automatically executing a communication service in a mobile communication system according to the location and the condition.
Execution of communication services that a mobile common carrier offers corresponds closely to a location and a condition in which a mobile communication terminal is used. For example, a user may not want a business-related call to arrive in a private time. Conversely, the user may not want a private call to arrive during work. Further, the user may usually want a call to arrive with a ringing tone, but may also want a call to arrive with a vibrator alarm or in an answer phone mode while the user is in a meeting room or a library. However, when such a setting is executed manually, a call which otherwise should arrive may not arrive, or a call may arrive with a ringing tone while the user is in a meeting room or a library, due to an error in the operation or a failure to provide the appropriate setting.
Recently, the area covered by one base station has become small as in a PHS system, so that it has become possible to automatically or semi-automatically offer communication service that depends on a place and condition in which a user is in, to a mobile communication terminal.
2. Description of the Related Art
A car navigation system is well known as a mobile communication system in which a mobile common carrier offers communication service to a mobile user, based on location information. A car navigation system provides communication service such that the current location information of a mobile user is detected, and the current location information is transmitted to a mobile common carrier. The mobile common carrier retrieves map information and transmits the map information to the mobile user.
A similar system is known wherein a mobile communication terminal detects reported location information reported by a base station, the mobile communication terminal supplies the reported location information to a mobile communication network so that the mobile common carrier provides communication service accordingly.
Such systems not only provide map information but also information and communication service relating to the location of the mobile communication terminal. For example, information relating to local facilities and service programs may be provided. The mobile communication terminal can request expansion or update of the information in a database provided by the mobile common carrier. With this, the mobile common carrier can provide the latest information that meets the demands of the users. The mobile common carrier maintains a database on its own in order to manage the reported location information and the communication services to be executed.
In a mobile common carrier in which the area indicated by the reported location information from a mobile communication terminal is identified so that a setting of a mobile communication terminal is changed automatically, the following problems exist.
Because the reported location information is introduced in order to facilitate management of a location of a terminal in a mobile communication network by a mobile common carrier, it has nothing to do with community. Accordingly, a location managing host, a manager in a mobile communication system, should generate a database of map information that relates the community to the area indicated by position information of the terminal managed by the mobile communication network. However, there is a problem in that much storage capacity is needed if the position information from different mobile common carriers is introduced in the map information and if the communication service preset individually by users is managed by a switch.
It is difficult for a switch to centrally determine a communication service because the significance of an area indicated by the reported location information submitted by a mobile communication terminal is different from one individual to another and should be preset by an individuals own initiative.
As the area indicated by the reported location information becomes smaller, the volume of reported location information that a mobile communication terminal detects increases. As a result, the frequency with which the mobile communication terminal reports the reported location information to the mobile communication network increases, so that the traffic of the location information supplied from the mobile communication network to the location managing host increases.
The mobile communication network of a mobile communication system usually manages information related to an area in the form of several sets of reported location information put together, instead of the reported location information itself, in order to prevent an increase in the traffic of the reported location information from mobile communication terminals. Therefore, it is not possible for the managing host to perform detailed location management if the location information managed by a mobile communication network is used. Accordingly, the map information that relates the location indicated by the location information to the community cannot be properly generated.
Assuming a case in which the location managing host receives location information via a switch, and assuming that the mobile communication networks of several mobile common carriers are to be used, each communication network needs to have facilities to transmit location information to the location managing host, which is difficult to implement.
Accordingly, a general object of the present invention is to provide a mobile communication terminal in which the aforementioned problems are eliminated.
Another and more specific object of the present invention is to automatically execute communication service whereby an area indicated by the reported location information is identified so that the setting of a mobile communication terminal is automatically changed.
The aforementioned objects can be achieved by a mobile communication terminal comprising: reported location information detecting means for detecting reported location information from a base station; reported location information managing means for managing one of the reported location information specified by a user and a variation of the reported location information specified by the user; registered process executing means for executing, when it is determined that the reported location information detected by the reported location information detecting means matches the reported location information managed by the reported location information managing means, a predetermined process that corresponds to the reported location information producing the match.
According to the mobile communication terminal of the present invention, it is possible to manage specific reported location information or a variation of reported location information designated by the reported location information managing means. Accordingly, a location managing host does not need to generate a database that relate the community to the area indicated by the location information of the terminal managed by the mobile communication network. Accordingly, as compared to the mobile communication system in which a communication service set by an individual is managed by a switch, the system in which the mobile communication terminal of the present invention is introduced reduces the required storage capacity of the switch to a significant degree.
Since the mobile communication terminal according to the invention is capable of managing specific reported location information and a variation of reported location information designated by the reported location managing means, it is possible for an individual to set a communication service on its own initiative even when the significance of an area indicated by the reported location information reported by the mobile communication network differs from one individual to another.
Even when the volume of reported location information detected by the mobile communication terminal increases as the area indicated by the reported location information decreases, the mobile communication terminal according to the invention makes it possible to reduce the volume of traffic of the location information supplied from the mobile communication network to the location managing host, by managing specific reported location information and a variation in reported location information designated by the reported location information managing means.
The mobile communication network of a mobile communication system usually manages information related to an area in the form of several sets of reported location information put together, instead of the reported location information itself, in order to prevent an increase in the traffic of the reported location information from mobile communication terminals. By managing reported location information and a variation of reported location information designated by the reported location information managing means, it is easy for the mobile communication terminal to generate map information that relates an area indicated by the reported location information to the community.
By managing reported location information and a variation of reported location information designated by the reported location information managing means, the communication network need not be provided with facilities to transmit the reported location information to a location managing host even when the mobile communication terminal uses a plurality of communication networks.
In order to achieve the aforementioned objects, the mobile communication terminal may further comprise current reported location information storage means for storing current reported location information; user-defined area name registering means for defining an arbitrary user-defined area name with respect to the current reported location information stored in the current reported location information storage means, by operating the mobile communication terminal; and execution service registering means for registering a process to be executed when the reported location information that corresponds to the user-defined area name is received, by operating the execution service registering means; and wherein the reported location information managing means comprises: storage means for storing the reported location information, the user-defined area name and the execution service, in relation to each other.
Displaying the unprocessed reported location information in the form of xe2x80x9czone1xe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9czone2xe2x80x9d would not allow a user to readily recognize an associated area. However, the above-described construction makes it possible for the user-defined area registering means to assign user-defined area names such as xe2x80x9cmeeting roomxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9chomexe2x80x9d to xe2x80x9czone1xe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9czone2xe2x80x9d, respectively. Further, by storing the reported location information, the user-defined area name and the execution in relation to each other in the storage means, the subsequent search becomes easy.
The execution service registering means may comprise selecting means for selecting one of a triggered execution mode and an area-only mode for each execution service executed to set a condition (parameter) for a communication service and executed upon receipt of the reported location information that corresponds to the user-defined area name defined with respect thereto, the triggered execution mode being a mode wherein the selection by the selecting means is triggered by the reception of the reported location information that corresponds to the user-defined area name defined with respect thereto, and is maintained even after the mobile communication terminal leaves an area that corresponds to the user-defined area name, and the area-only mode being a mode wherein a previous setting for executing a previous executed execution service is stored in the storage means, and the execution service corresponding to the user-defined area name is selected, the previous setting being restored when the mobile communication terminal leaves the area that corresponds to the user-defined area name.
According to this aspect of the present invention, the user of the mobile communication terminal can select the area-only mode when an execution service is to be set only in the target area such as a meeting room. When it is required that an execution service is to be executed while the user is in an office, the user may assign a user-defined area name to, for example, an entrance of the office and select the triggered execution mode, because, if the office is relatively large in area, setting of a user-defined area name in the area-only mode would be relatively time-consuming.
The mobile communication terminal may further comprise a timer unit for measuring a time that elapsed from a detection of the reported location information constituting the designated variation of the reported location information that corresponds to the user-defined area vector name, to a detection of the reported location information also constituting the designated variation, and for notifying the user-defined area vector name detecting means that a time-out has occurred when a count of the timer exceeds a predetermined period of time preset by a user of the mobile communication terminal.
With such a construction, the user-defined area vector detecting means can detect a designated variation of reported location information if the time that elapsed from a detection of the first reported location information to a detection of the subsequent reported location information is within the period of time preset in the timer.
The registered process executing means may comprise call incoming alert mode selecting means for selecting a call incoming alert mode.
With this construction, the user of the mobile communication terminal can set a call incoming mode of the mobile communication terminal to a ringing tone, a vibrator or a display so that the selected mode is executed automatically depending on the location of the user.
The registered process executing means may comprise call incoming refusal selecting means for selecting one of setting and cancellation of call incoming refusal.
With this construction, the user of the mobile communication terminal can set or cancel the xe2x80x9ccall incoming refusalxe2x80x9d execution service so that the selected mode is automatically depending on the location of the user.
The registered process executing means may comprise answer phone selecting means for selecting one of setting and cancellation of an answer phone service.
With this construction, the user of the mobile communication terminal can set or cancel the xe2x80x9canswer phonexe2x80x9d execution service so that the selected mode is automatically executed depending on the location of the user.
The registered process executing means may comprise call destination terminal setting execution means for executing setting of a call destination terminal.
With this construction, for example, the user of the mobile communication terminal can set an incoming call destined to a portable telephone set to automatically arrive at a domestic telephone set.
The registered process executing means may comprise screening setting means for setting screening for variable call incoming mode that depends on an attribute assigned to a call originator and a condition of the call originator.
With this construction, the user of the mobile communication terminal can set the screening to a private mode for preventing a business call from arriving when the user is at home or to a work mode for preventing a private call from arriving while the user is at work so that the selected mode is executed automatically depending on the location of the user.